Expanded mini tests from KU assessment center will offer Kansas teachers more flexibility

LAWRENCE — Assessment and Technology Solutions (ATS), a center within the University of Kansas’ Achievement and Assessment Institute (AAI), is supporting Kansas educators with an expanded series of instructional mini tests. 

The Kite Suite is a web-based application system used by the Kansas Department of Education and other educational agencies in school districts and programs across 45 states, supporting over 5 million tests a year. It provides accessible and adaptable large-scale assessments and includes assessment development, content integration and data collection tools.  

Instructional mini tests are a small set of 6-8 assessment questions that focus on one or more Kansas learning standards and often involve a reading passage or scientific phenomena upon which the questions are based. The mini tests are designed to provide actionable and immediate feedback to teachers. 

The assessments previously offered by the Kite Suite focused on larger tests such as state assessments that are assigned at specific points throughout the school year. The mini tests can be assigned at any point throughout the school year. 

“Teachers, schools or districts can pick out which mini tests to use and when based on their own curriculum and on their own instructional practice, so there's a lot more flexibility with these instructional mini tests that educators don't have with other state tests,” said Matt Copeland, an associate director who oversees content and psychometrics at ATS.  

So far this school year, over 540,000 mini tests have been completed in the state of Kansas. 

The expansion of the Kite Suite mini tests comes from an amendment to the contract ATS has with Kansas to expand and enhance the tests ATS currently offers. Copeland said that the Kansas Legislature is looking to get more timely feedback on student performance. 

English language arts and math mini tests have been available for a number of years, but ATS has begun expanding its offerings.    

“We're really trying to expand the bank of those instructional mini tests so that there are far more items available and more opportunities for teachers,” Copeland said.  

The science team at ATS uses the state’s recommended scope and sequence of science standard bundles in creating content blocks for the mini tests. The blocks are then approved by the state to ensure compliance with the guidelines and that students are answering relevant questions on topics they should be familiar with. 

The content writers at ATS, who have Kansas connections and are familiar with Kansas standards, also make the tests more engaging for students by offering multiple types of questions besides multiple choice, Copeland said.   

“Our focus is really on trying to impact that classroom and student learning. It's a lot of work and a heavy lift, but it's a lift that's worth it,” Copeland said.   

Lisa Braun, ATS associate director, said that a large percentage of the test content writers at ATS are former teachers themselves.   

“You have to be a subject matter expert to create tests, but you also have to understand kids, and the former teachers working here do,” Braun said. “They give us great insight into what is important and what needs to be prioritized. It’s those little nuances that will really help meet kids where they're at.”  

Standards-based education has been a part of Kansas education for decades, but teachers often create their own lesson plans or pull from outside sources. Mini tests are beneficial because they help educators gauge if these lessons are setting students up to meet the required standards.  

“The mini tests can be broken down by standard so that teachers have access to high-quality, standards-based assessments, no matter what their resources are in their classroom,” Braun said. “This makes it easier for school districts to make sure students are passing standards throughout the school year.”   

Teachers who have used the mini tests in their classes said that the tests have helped them better engage with their students and address problem areas.   

“After kids learned that the mini tests were to track their success, they get excited because we get immediate feedback,” said Kiela Wood, an elementary school teacher and Kansas state assessment coordinator in Wichita. “Student data can tell us a huge story and be incredibly powerful.”   

Copeland said that the mini tests would have been a helpful tool in his classroom during his time as a teacher and that he hopes they will improve education for both students and educators.  

“Every teacher wonders at the end of the day if their students understood the lessons. Which ones got it, and which ones didn't? That was a mystery to me in a lot of cases,” Copeland said. “These mini tests are an important step in trying to better understand what translates across that that gap between what teachers teach and what students learn.”